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A judge rejected a lawsuit filed by environmental groups hoping to reverse federal approval of a controversial high-voltage power line in the region.

Judge Richard Roberts declined arguments by the National Parks Conservation Association and nine other environmental groups that sought to halt construction of the Susquehanna-Roseland project through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and two adjoining federal recreation sites.

The ruling clears a final hurdle facing the contentious 145-mile project, which was first proposed in 2007.

The $1.2 billion, 500-kilovolt line will run from the Berwick area to eastern New Jersey. Allentown-based PPL Electric Utilities and its New Jersey partner, Newark-based Public Service Electric & Gas, say the project will save consumers more than $200 million annually by stabilizing service and reducing bottlenecks along the Mid-Atlantic power grid.

"It removes the last major obstacle," said Paul Wirth, a spokesman for PPL, which intervened in the case - along with Public Service Electric & Gas - on the government's side.

The environmental groups, which filed suit last October against Interior Secretary Kenneth Salzar and the regional director of the National Park Service, alleged the park service did an inadequate review of the project's potential environmental consequences and violated the Organic Act by extending the right of way for the line and granting special permits for the work.

Federal agencies proceeded properly in the review and approval process, said Judge Roberts, of U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

"The plaintiffs have not shown that the NPS's decisions in the case were arbitrary and capricious," he wrote. "The defendants have shown that the agency's decision is rationally based on the administrative record."

The ruling affirms procedures were followed properly after a thorough study, Stephanie Raymond, a PPL vice president, said in a statement.

"We will move forward with construction, as planned," she said.

Construction in the park actually began Tuesday as access road development got under way in the Walpack Twp. section in New Jersey, Mr. Wirth said. The site is about 16 miles south of Milford.

Foes of the power line charged it was unnecessary, too costly and would have adverse environmental effects at the water gap, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the Middle Delaware National Scenic and Recreational River.

"We are deeply disappointed in the judge's ruling," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, an environmental advocacy group that was among the plaintiffs in the suit. "We are looking at our options to appeal."

Other work associated with the power line started in the region last summer, including widening the right of way to 325 feet to accommodate utility poles averaging 175 feet in height. The project will trace the route of an existing 230-kilovolt line through the region.

Efforts to reach the National Park Service and National Parks Conservation Association, an advocacy group based in Washington, were unsuccessful.

Contact the writer: jhaggerty@timesshamrock.com

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